Three Ugandans die in deadly Marburg virus outbreak

KAMPALA - Three people have died in southwest Uganda from an outbreak of Marburg virus disease, officials said on Friday, a severe and highly fatal infection, just two weeks after the east African nation said it was free of the deadly Ebola virus.

Another four people who have died since October 4 were also suspected to have been killed by the disease, the Ugandan government said in a statement.

There is no vaccine or specific treatment for Marburg virus disease, also know as Marburg haemorrhagic fever, which is transmitted through bodily fluids such as saliva and blood, or by handling infected wild animals such as monkeys.